The Common Council met 07/17/2024. One of the items they separated out for individual discussion and a vote was the resolution to rescind No Mow May. The Municipal Services Committee had voted to recommend rescinding No Mow May but also increasing the maximum allowable height of grass on developed lots in Appleton from 8 inches to 10 inches.
During the Common Council meeting, Alderperson Sheri Hartzheim (District 13) put forth an amendment to the resolution that rescinded No Mow May and returned the city to year-round enforcement of the 8-inch maximum height of grass but also included direction to city staff to put together some educational information on Slow Mow Summer.
This amended version was approved by the Common Council by a vote of 13-0.
I’ve prepared a transcript of the discussion for download:
The Council discussed this resolution for almost 30 minutes, but the discussion seemed to be very uncontentious and everybody seemed to like Alderpersons Hartzheim’s amendment. Even prior to her making the amendment, Alderperson Alex Schultz (District 9) spoke about the need to rescind No Mow May, saying, “The question was asked to me today, ‘Why are you getting rid of No Mow May?’ And the answer is we need to pivot. Because of the way the climate is acting and the way the seasons are shifting or zones are shifting seasons are changing, it’s really difficult to put a stop and start date on this notion of letting your grass grow in spring so that it can emerge and do the things it needs to do for pollinators and other species. So, I think we’re all sort of on the same page supporting the idea of going back to weed enforcement and understanding that once your lawn gets to a really high point, it’s not doing much service unless it’s flowering at three feet, and at which point, you might as well create a flower garden out of those tall grasses.”
When Alderperson Hartzheim made the amendment she explained, “I would like for us to return to what we had before, which is an eight-inch maximum. That I believe is something that we can all agree works for the city and had worked for the city for a long, long time. But I don’t disagree that we should be working towards supporting pollination and pollinators, and I believe that a better way to do it, as Alder Schultz said, is Slow Mow Summer.”
Alderperson Kristin Alfheim (District 11) talked about how she had learned a lot from No Mow May even though she had not fully followed it. She also mentioned, “this summer, we all received calls; it was rough. It was a rough season. And for people who do take pride in their lawns, it became very, very disheartening in our community.” She went on to say, “I also believe that the eight-inch rule is sufficient. I really do. Anything over eight inches to me is difficult to mow. That’s a realistic answer. If we can accomplish it with science that we are getting what we need to help the environment and still maintaining the beautiful city that we are, I think that this is a very forward example of how the city can be committed to this and we can earn more people who believe in sustaining the pollinators while really respecting our beautiful city as it is.”
Alderperson Chris Croatt (District 14) one of the authors of the original version of the resolution approved of the change.
Alderperson Chad Doran (District 15) who had introduced a resolution last year to rescind No Mow May also approved of the amended resolution stating, “I think when the original No Mow May program came forward, if I recall, the program was really aimed at education, and I think that this amendment also really seems to be centered around education which is really the goal here. And I think, as alder Alfheim stated, people have been learning a lot. And as we’ve sort of seen this program evolve, we’ve seen some of the downsides of the its current form also. And this, I think, seeks to strike that balance that that sort of makes everyone happy here and still offers the educational piece in a number of ways that really helps further, I think, what the original intent of the No Mow May program was to begin with.”
Alderperson Brad Firkus (District 3) confirmed with Mayor Woodford that there would not be any costs related to the amended version that they needed to take into consideration. Mayor Woodford said that there was not other than the requirement to dedicate one page in the Public Works guide to Slow Mow May education. The Council ended up approving an amendment to the amended resolution that removed the requirement that the information printed in the Public Works guide needed to be one page.
The Council voted 13-0 to approve the amendment to the resolution and then voted 13-0 to approve the resolution as amended.
View full meeting details and video here: https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1195552&GUID=6AD3FC8C-F8F6-4FDC-9380-7B3D282B8B3F
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